Avoid Gratuitous Capitalization

Avoid Gratuitous Capitalization Avoid Gratuitous Capitalization Avoid Gratuitous Capitalization By Mark Nichol As an editor, I devote much of my time and energy to helping a writer bring out the best in his or her prose, but a lot of effort also goes into minor but nagging errors unnecessary capitalization among them. Long after the Roman alphabet was developed, only one form existed: the capital form. Along the way, a parallel form, known as lowercase developed. (The term lowercase derives from the fact that stamps for printing letters using this style were kept in rows of cases located below those housing the uppercase, or capital, letters.) Now, capital letters are used in a limited number of functions: primarily, for the first letter of the first word in a sentence or of a proper noun, and for denoting acronyms and initialisms. Unfortunately, many amateur writers, and a number of professionals, clutter their writing with gratuitous capitalization because of a misunderstanding of or a disregard for orthographic conventions. For example, many people do not realize that when the name of an entity such as an organization is reduced to one word, that word is generally treated without initial capitalization, as in â€Å"the association† (not â€Å"the Association†) as shorthand for â€Å"the American Automobile Association.† One complication is something that can be blamed on institutional pride, as when a university’s literature describes how â€Å"the University’s student-life environment is very rich† or on corporate branding efforts, as in â€Å"the Company is here to serve your needs.† Such gratuitous capitalization is entrenched in traditional legal writing (for example, â€Å"the Plaintiff’s claim is upheld†), but both in that context and in general prose it is distracting. Whenever you’re tempted to capitalize a word, specific to your field of interest or endeavor, that is not a proper noun, check its treatment in the lay literature books, nonscholarly periodicals, newspapers, and websites. Often, you’ll find that the word is treated generically, and I hope that you’ll realize that unless the word is strictly a proper noun, there’s no justification for aggrandizing it with an initial capital letter. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a US Business LetterThat vs. WhichTypes of Plots

Economics Article Commentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics Article Commentary - Essay Example The author compares East Asian markets like South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore which have grown under the control of their respective governments. Even the US markets which promote free trade have some participation of the government. Market liberalisation has resulted in adverse effects on the poor in the developing countries. In such countries, agriculture is the main occupation of majority of population. Agriculture sector allows the import of cheap products in the local markets. Small scale farmers of the developing countries like Ghana, Kenya are not able to sell their produce in their own countries and have to pay more for the farm needs. Free trade gives far more powers to the traders outside the country who make sure that in addition to the cheaper imports of their own products, exports of the country are bought at cheaper prices which eventually hits the local agriculture sector. This results in the exploitation of the poor farmers. Small scale farmers are losing their lands to richer sections of the society. Liberalisation is forcing gender inequality and unemployment. Market liberalisation is also affecting the environment. Earlier crops were grown according to soil types and climate. There was a vast diversity of the crops grown all round the year and in different regions. While now the concentration is on the growth of the cash crops fit for the export. Crops that are suitable for export are grown on a large scale affecting the environment conditions resulting from soil degradation and extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. As government does not interfere, all the support offered by the government to the small scale farmers is also lost such as subsidies, agricultural research, price control and so on. Free trade also hampers the self-sufficiency of a nation on its own production. Traders establish monopoly in the local markets.For overcoming this problem, governments should have selective intervention in the markets. As mentioned earlier East Asian markets like South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore have benefited from the participation of government in controlling and managing the markets. Government decides the policies and restrictions such as investment tariffs and various taxes to be imposed on the foreign trade in order to protect the domestic trade and attain maximum benefit from the international commerce. Governments tend to maintain price stability and balanced growth keeping in mind the interests of every section of the society. Some of the steps the governments can take are: open an d fund government banks, promote savings, subsidised credit for the industries, investment in technological developments, promotion of export and protection from imports that can affect domestic produce. Governments provide aid to small scale farmers and declining industries. The main focus lies in the capital accumulation and labour literacy. The administration should selectively intervene to control the inflation. Public and private sectors must be able to share the information. Extensive exports and huge foreign investments regulated by government can boost up the economy. These are the steps taken by the governments of East Asian countries that resulted in their miraculous growth. US markets also support free trade but government plays an important role as well. Agriculture sector needs aids from the government and US government provides financial

Parent education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Parent education - Research Paper Example The failure of many adults to succeed is rooted in the poor parenting skills of those who raised them, therefore society should insist that parenting courses be a requirement of those who are pregnant, both the mother and father of the child, so that the needs of society can best be served by the actions of the parents. A society has the right and the obligation to define how its members will interact within the ideological framework of its culture. One of the biggest problems in the United States is that most people do not have generations of ancestors who came before them on which to base their cultural belief systems. Therefore, the way in which parents pass their heritage to their children is often convoluted and without social structure, the design of the community not based upon generations of cultural belief systems, but a patchwork of concepts that do not inform those who are trying to find a way to raise their children on exactly what is best in regard to their future.

Chapters 11-16 of the novel Essay Example for Free

Chapters 11-16 of the novel Essay Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelley in the late 17th century which depicts a story about a scientist in Geneva who becomes obsessed with creating life. In his journey he comes across some notes of a professor in which specific notions on creating a living creature are contained. With these notes and his wild imagination Frankenstein puts together parts of corpses and revolutionises science by successfully creating a living creature. However, all is not merry, as Frankenstein realises his creation is disparate to human beings but that he has transformed what was once a dead corpse into a wretched monster. After abandoning his creation and later trying to kill it so as to cover up his unworthy work, Frankenstein effectively drives the monster out of his lab to fend for himself. At the end of Chapter 10 the reader is given Frankensteins view of his creation; he says breathless horror and disgust filled my heart at this very point we begin to see Frankensteins dream to create life disappear and the reader is left feeling as horrified and disgusted as Frankenstein, towards the monster. Frankenstein continues his horrid reaction by stating a thing such as Dante could not have conceived this phrase puts to light the actual horror of the monster because Frankenstein states that even Dante, a fantasist of evil, was not able to come up with such a creation. In Chapters 11 to 16 of the novel we see the epic voyage through the eyes of the monster as Shelley adopts the persona of the monster. Shellys portrayal of the monster in this distinguished technique helps us to better understand what the monster thinks and how his emotions change as he becomes more conscious of himself and his surroundings. Our feelings towards the monster change significantly and we begin to see a very different and unexpected side of him. The monster begins by telling us about his first memory of himself; he says that a strange multiplicity of sensations seized me, and I saw, felt, heard and smelt at the same time this portrays the monster as a new born baby learning about the simple senses that all humans use. As the monster introduces us to his first day in the woods he says that I felt tormented by hunger and thirst this illustrates the monster as a normal person who has to feed himself to live. Also the monster tells us feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept here we are able to distinctively see that the monster is no more different than a small child as both cry when they seem to find no remedy for their pain. Also we are introduced to the feelings of the monster which come to play a very important role in his later life. As we become more learned about the monsters feelings and actions we are presented by the more intellectual and able side. He begins by telling as that he is able to distinguish between insects and herbs and continues to show how rapidly he is able to learn by differentiating one herb from another. This shows the immense intellect of the monster and also makes the reader more attached since there becomes a similarity between the monster and humans. The monster tells us that he began also to observe, with greater accuracy, the forms that surrounded me this shows that the monster is able to process his sight with major accuracy and is able to learn about his surroundings easily. He continues to say my mind received every day additional ideas now we are able to understand that the monster has the ability of thought and has an imagination, the one attribute that differentiates humans from all other creatures. As we continue we see that the monster is able to learn physically from its mistakes, I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain this once again represents the human like intellect of the monster being able to assess mistakes so as not to repeat it again. Furthermore, the monster inhabits the nature of cooking as he experiments with his newly found fire, he begins to see that the berries were spoiled from this operation, and the nuts and roots much improved. The actual mental intellectual ability of the monster is portrayed by Shelley as the monster inhabits in the cottage of the De Laceys. Here the monster is educated to the language of his fellow inhabitants who he reluctantly segregates himself due to being in doubt of acceptance from them. The monster begins his quest to understand the language of his company by observing their sound and actions. He says I found that these people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds. However we are also presented with the less able understanding of the monster as he struggles to understand the words connected with feeling such as good, dearest and unhappy. This once again clearly exposes the monster with human like intelligence since it needs to be able to experience feelings to be able to understand it. We are introduced to a new member of the family, an Arabian, who is unable to speak the language and thus is taught by her companions and at the same time the monster is able to educate himself as he eavesdrops between the holes in the walls separating his feeble habitation from the familys cottage. The monster learns all his facts and details of humans and logic by listening to the various texts and conversations of the De Lacey family. He says I obtained a cursory knowledge of history it gave me an insight to the different manners, governments and religions of the different nations of the earth. Shelley portrays the monsters thoughts and feelings at this new acquired knowledge in a very intense way. The monster begins to question the very being that he is what was I? I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome. Here we begin to see that the monster becomes evident of his deformity. From the beginning of the monsters tale to the very end we are introduced to the lonely figure and outcast to society that the monster exists as. The first evidence of the social disregard comes from Frankenstein himself, after he realises that he has created nothing but a monster, he abandons his creation and kicks him out of the lab. From then on the monster is faced with negligence from every human who he unfortunately appears in front of. The monster is very adamant at questioning himself to the reality to his being. He says And what was I? Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, here we begin to realise that the monster begins to get upset about his lonely being. This interrogation that the monster puts to him leads him to become upset and we see his emotions beginning to cloud his judgement. Was I then a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all man fled, and whom all men disowned? the monster is able to understand his position in the human society here, as he examines the actual creature that he is presented as to humans.

Using Wikis in Education Essay -- Education

The diffusion of online tools in education is increasing exponentially. Sener (2010) cites an increase of online class enrollees from 1.6 million in 2002 to 5.6 million in 2009. Moloney and Oakley (2010) predict an annual increase of 20% over the next few years of participants in online education. In order to meet the needs of a changing student population, educators must be aware of the myriad of tools available to enhance learning. This paper presents the use of wikis in education and evaluates the wiki’s effectiveness according to Chickering and Gamson’s Seven Principles of Good Practice (as cited in Hoskins, 2010). Introduction to Wikis The wiki is a browser based editing program which allows multiple users to contribute and edit text. It includes editing tools similar to a word processor that allow the user to control text size and color, make the text bold or italicized, and enter web links and pictures. Changes are tracked by the software and successive edits can be monitored or even rolled back to a previous version. The program allows email notification of changes made as chosen by the user in the settings of their account (Cunningham, 2002; Crocker, Hutchings, Nussey, Park, & Springate, 2010). In education, wikis are useful in that they allow open editing of a document. If one student sees an error, they can simply change the text. Crocker et al. (2010) mention limited knowledge of wikis by graduate students, but point out that interaction on the wiki creates dialogue between students which enhances their learning. The activity on the wiki is useful to educators because it promotes contact and cooperation between students, encourages active learning, and ensures prompt feedback from other users. The col... ...igher education: exploring barriers to successful implementation. Interactive Learning Environments, 18(3), 219-231. Kardong-Edgren, S., Ha, Y., Hallmark, E., Hurd, D., Oermann, M., Snelson, C., & Tennant, M. (2009).Using a wiki in nursing education and research. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship 6(1), 1-10. Doi: 10.2202/1548-923X.1787 Kleine-Staarman, J., & Pifarre, M. (2011). Wiki-supported collaborative learning in primary education: How a dialogic space is created for thinking together. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6, 187-205. Moloney, J. F., & Oakley, B.,II. (2010). Scaling online education: Increasing access to higher education. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 14, 55-70. Sener, J. (2010). Why online education will attain full scale. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 14, 3-16.

Christmas Paper Essay

1) What was the main concern of Republican Reconstruction Congressmen in terms of politics? The main goal of Republicans at this time was to give black men the right to vote. However, they did not grant suffrage to black men out of sympathy; rather, they did so in order to gain political clout in the South. 2) What was unique about the 14th Amendment and what does this say about the â€Å"new birth of freedom† coming out of the civil war? The 14th Amendment was unique, because for the first time, the Constitution explicitly contained the world â€Å"male† instead of speaking of â€Å"the people† or â€Å"citizens.† Saying that there was a new birth of freedom after the Civil War is a misleading statement. It is true that suffrage was given to the black man, thereby, giving African-American men more freedom. However, at the same time, women were further subjected to political tyranny, because they were now denied the right to vote by the existing state law as well as the new federal law (14th Amendment). 3) What was the somewhat dismissive reasoning provided by the abolitionists when denying women an inclusion in the 15th Amendment? The 15th Amendment stipulated that suffrage could not be denied on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Feminists wished to include that suffrage could not be denied on the basis of sex as well. However, Republicans would not change their plan to give the vote only to the black man. The abolitionists, who for a long time championed their platform as well as the women’s suffrage movement’s, refused to side with the feminists. They justified their rejection of the women’s suffrage movement by stating that African American male suffrage was more important than the right to vote for women. 4) Explain Fredrick Douglass’s â€Å"When women†¦ because they are women†¦Ã¢â‚¬  speech. Fredrick Douglass, a prominent abolitionist, in his speech, explicitly states that the women’s suffrage movement was nowhere near as important as giving the black man the right to vote. He does this by providing vivid examples of the horrid treatment of blacks (i.e. they were dragged from their homes and hung from lamp posts, they had their children torn from their arms, etc.) and states that when women are treated in this manner, then they will have an urgency to gain suffrage. 5) Explain how the split in the suffrage movement transpired and the response and organization of each faction. After betrayal by the abolitionists, all feminists were angry. However, some like Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe continued to be connected with the abolitionist movement. This caused anger in people like Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who believed that women that put their sex first, should lead the feminist movement. Anthony and Stanton eventually formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and Stone and other feminists formed the American Woman Suffrage Association. The AWSA believed that they should only focus on one issue; in other words, they should focus on woman’s suffrage, rather than concentrating on a variety of feminist issues. On the other hand, the NWSA, adopted a broad, liberal platform that linked women’s suffrage to a number of other women’s issues. This difference lasted for over twenty years. 6) What was the significance of the Revolution? The Revolution was a feminist newspaper financed by George Train and written by Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. This sixteen-page weekly paper touched on every aspect of a woman’s life; work, maternity, marriage, etc. The Revolution covered news for, and by, women and was also a forum for feminist theory and practice. For example, Stanton used the pages of the Revolution to explain why she opposed the present marriage system. Overall, this paper was used to promote feminist ideas in the United States of America. 7) How, according to the author, did Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony fail to consider the relationship between class and suffrage? The author states that Stanton and Anthony were at their weakest when discussing class and suffrage because they were never able to understand that class, rather than sex, determined the priorities of working women. While Stanton and Anthony believed in the vote over unions, working women supported economic justice over political justice. 8) In any ways did Stanton and Anthony reveal themselves to be hypocrites? If so, explain. I think that they were hypocrites in a way. For example, in the Revolution, Anthony and Stanton supported the unionizing efforts of women printers. At the same time, they hired a nonunion supporting printing shop for their newspaper. By hiring this nonunion printing shop, they betrayed working woman, just as much as the abolitionists did when they supported the 14th and 15th Amendments. 9) Who was Victoria Woodhull? Why is she important? Why were her views considered radical? Provided examples from the reading. Victoria Woodhull was born into an unstable and poor drifting family. At 15, she married a middle-aged physician who was an alcoholic. Eventually, Victoria returned to her family and continued her work as a spiritualist. Then, without divorcing her first husband, she married Colonel Harvey Blood. They both were huge believers in the principal of â€Å"free love†, a radical belief at the time whereby a person had the right to sexual relations outside of marriage. With this message in hand, Victoria and Blood moved to New York City. It was here that Woodhull began her rise to prominence; in particular, after she gained the respect of Commorade Vanderbilt, who provided her with the very best stock tips. These tips allowed Victoria and to gain a considerable fortune. In 1872, she appeared in the House of Representatives, where she talked about woman’s suffrage. The NWSA was floored by her speech, and invited her to join their group. Unfortunately her radical views in â€Å"free love† eventually led to her demise because the public was astonished at the fact that she lived with both her first and second husbands. From then on, she was attacked and denounced by the public. 10) According to Woodhill and Claflin what is the â€Å"unspoken fear† of many nineteenth century women and what do they propose as a remedy? Woodhill and Claflin say that the â€Å"unspoken† fear of numerous women in the 19th century was prostitution, because many men at the time contracted venereal diseases from prostitutes to wives. In solution for this problem, Woodhill and Claflin proposed that prostitutes should receive weekly medical examinations. 11) What was one point of contention between the American Wing and the Nationalist Wing of the feminists’ movement? One point of contention between the American Wing and the Nationalist Wing was whether or not to accept Woodhall in the feminist movement. The Nationalist Wing was extremely supportive of Woodhall’s policies. After her speech in the House of Representatives, they invited her to speak to their convention the following day. In addition, the Nationalist Wing believed in Woodhull’s ideas; for example, they called for reforms on every aspect of government after her speech and even supported her idea of secession. On the other hand, the American Wing denounced the Nationalist-Woodhall alliance by saying that the woman’s suffrage movement would be further inhibited if it were linked with free love. 12) What was Woodhull’s definition of â€Å"free love†? What price did she pay for expressing these views in the Steinway Hall proclamation? Woodhall defined â€Å"free love† as the right of any person to enjoy sexual relations outside of marriage. During a speech in Steinway Hall, she publically expressed her belief in free love and because of this she was denounced by the media and many of her old supporters vanished. 13) What was the view of Susan B. Anthony on the formed relationships between men and women? How did this view differ from Woodhull? Susan B. Anthony was a firm believer in not challenging the private relations between men and women. Single all her life, she proclaimed that women did not need men, only each other. On the other hand, Woodhull challenged many 19th century assumptions of private relations between men and women. For example, she believed that for most women, marriage was legalized prostitution; in other words, women married for money, not love. 14) What was the Beecher-Tilton affair? What was the result of Woodhull’s exposition of this event? After she was dismissed from the NWSA, Woodhull, looking for vengeance, decided to tell the public about the Beecher-Tilton affair. Henry Ward Beecher was the most famous liberal preacher of his day, and Elizabeth Tilton was one of his parishioners. Tilton was also married to Theodore Tilton, a staunch supporter of the women’s suffrage movement. In 1872, Woodhull published this scandal in a special edition of her Weekly. This â€Å"scandal of the century† had many repercussions. For example, Theodore Tilton sued Beecher misconduct with his wife, and the reputations of both the Tiltons were ruined. In addition, Woodhull was arrested by Anthony Comstock, who claimed that the Weekly had distributed obscene literature through the mail. Although, Woodhull was eventually released, she never regained her social prominence. 15) What was the significance of the West during the 19th century women’s suffrage movement? The West during the 19th century provided a shining beacon of hope to the women’s suffrage movement. This is due to the fact that they saw the West as similar to the rural, small-town society of early America. They believed that in the West, women could regain the status of colonial women, while still being revered as Victorian ladies.

Why Did The Salem Witch Trials Happen - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 724 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/06/10 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Salem Witch Trials Essay Did you like this example? The Salem Witch Trials were a progression of preliminaries endeavoring to discover, recognize, and slaughter every single known lady and men honing black magic. The preliminaries happened in Colonial Massachusetts from 1692 and 1693, and for the subjects there, all killings were a triumph as the residents trusted they were disposing of the underhanded spirits expedited by the demon, until the point that they swung to catastrophe when the natives acknowledged they had slaughtered honest blood. A thing to ask ourselves today, is for what reason did the Salem Witch Trials happen, who was charged and why, and what was the result of the trials. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Why Did The Salem Witch Trials Happen?" essay for you Create order In the late 1600s, two young girls in pioneer Massachusetts, were analyzed and diagnosed that they were being controlled by a demon. They would begin to throw objects, had extraordinary fits, muscle spasms, hallucinations and spewing. When different young ladies began getting determined to have bewitchment, warrants were issued for the Parris Caribbean slave, Tituba, and two other womenthe destitute hobo Sarah Good and poor people, elderly Sarah Osborn, all who the young ladies professed to have possessed or bewitched them. The principal hanging that occured of the Salem Witch Trials was for Bridget Bishop. Bridget Bishop was the first trial, and had the most informers and observers than any other witch because of her exceptional state of mind, been hitched 3 times and did not dress as usual Puritan norms. Bridget Bishop was hanged on June 10, 1692. That was far from the end of the Salem Witch Trials. Shortly afterwards, 13 people, from slaves to the wealthy, were executed for the us e of witchcraft. One man, Giles Corey was executed by being crushed to death, one of the more violent executions of the trials. The people awaiting trial were often kept in dreadful holding cells, and many died before their trial even occured. In the dungeons or cells, the accused witches would be chained to the wall, so their spirits escaping the prison, and attacking more civilians. The Salem Witch Trials, were held at the Salem Village Meetinghouse. Then, the witches would be taken in to the courtroom, in front of judge and jury and be questioned. They were allowed no legal counsel, and had to plead guilty or not guilty without counsel. This of course would lead to easily convicted people of witchcraft. This led to the conviction of Rebecca Nurse. Different from most convicted witches, she was a well respected member of the community. When she was arrested, the town even signed a petition asking for her release. When her trial began, she was found not guilty, until the accusers started to act out in the court. The judge at the time, Stoughton, asked the jury to rethink their verdict. This was a turning p oint for the Salem Witch Trials, because most witches were known to be ugly, lower class, slaves, wierd, or anti-social, human beings, but this was the first trial that, at the time, proved, that anyone could be a witch. A main component of the Salem Witch Trials, was the ability and freedom to use spectral evidence. During the trials, spectral evidence was the best proof you would have to indict a witch. The most popular and used one was Live spectral evidence. In one of the early trials, the two girls who accused the first witch would start to act uncontrollably and show all the symptoms they testified for. The prosecution would then be able to use that evidence stating that the person was using witchcraft at the time of the trial. Another form of evidence the could be used was Dream Evidence. If a victim testified that while in a dream the witch contacted and attacked them, the judge would convict them promptly. This is exactly the case for Sarah Good who testified that Sarah Osbourne was possessing girls through dreams. As the trials progressed many people started disagreeing with the use of spectral evidence. It was not until 1693 when people started to protest the use of spectral evidence in co urt. , the court magistrates banned usage of spectral evidence, concluding that spectral evidence was insufficient proof to indict people. The banning of spectral evidence effectively caused the end of the witch-hunt. The reason it ended the witch-hunt was because spectral evidence was the puzzle piece needed to convict witches and without it, the witch-hunt was nothing.